Notes from an enthusiastic old lady caught up in the emotion of my build......a blog about a blog about a blog.

"Overzealous"? "Countess of Containers"? "Overcompensating"? "Attention Whore"?

Hmmmmmm. If my mother were alive today, she would say "Well, that's what you get...."

I'm referring to a blog that was forwarded to me in an email the other day. I started to copy the whole thing right here....right now..... but the original is way more colorful and italicized than I am smart enough to re-create and can be found at

http://renaissanceronin.wordpress.com/2009/04/10/1959/

See what you think. And I'll have a few words to say after you have read it.

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So..........after reading what renaissanceronin has to say.....let me just say, to begin with, that it also turns MY stomach a bit to read that "Yessirree! Sign up NOW.....Jump up and down......." excerpt from one of my previous blogs.....and a few others, I'm sorry to say. What was I thinking? Was I THAT caught up in the moment? And he is absolutely right about my being "overcompensating" and "overzealous" and using circus antics. That's pretty much how I've gone through life....much to the annoyance of a whole lot of folks. Just ask 'em. But I do think I've improved in the "look at me....I'm so cool.....center of the world" department, in my golden years. More often than not, in spite of what has gone on lately, I will go out of my way.....WAY out of my way....in pursuit of anonymity. These days, it's more like "if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it fall....."
Until the blllllllllloooogggggg, that is.

To be honest, I am extremely flattered, surprised and grateful that people have read about this project and think that any reaction, bad or good, serves the very purpose that initiated my "spreading the word". And I won't deny that I have gotten a lot of mileage from all of the feedback. Thanks for all of it. You, too, renaissanceronin.

Now, let's talk about DWELL magazine. I DO NOT EVER REMEMBER "COMPLAINING" ABOUT DWELL MAGAZINE, as I was accused. As a matter of fact, it is possible that I would not have a shipping container house-to-be if it weren't for DWELL magazine.

It all started with a house-sitting job for friends Betty and Carter in Sacramento, California. In that one memorable week, I had a blind date with a chiropractor, bought the premier issue of ReadyMade magazine, floated down the American River, found Ozomatli, and discovered and bought my first issue of DWELL (Volume 3, October 2003). That trip and those discoveries (with the exception of the chiropractor) may have been the catalyst I needed to realize that I really could build a house on my land....and the beginning of my search, in earnest, for the perfect modern, simple, efficient and affordable house plan. I don't think I have missed, or thrown away a single issue since then, and consider my basement collection of DWELL the best resource imaginable for most anything that has to do with how I plan to live. That plastic shoebox I carried into theworkshop 308 a couple of years ago (see blog archives) was full of DWELL clippings and websites and essays and details.....along with slim pickings from the Internet and library books. And what did I see when I walked through their door? (Besides Jason, Michael, Natalie, the big dog Mater and a space filled with some of the most incredible handmade modern design furniture ever seen in Springfield....) I saw some of those same DWELL magazines on their shelves and tables......which I interpreted as yet another sign that I was in the right place at the right time.

Talk about "spreading the word". DWELL has been the best ambassador for a conscientious, well-designed way of life that a person could ever ask for. And I'm talking any segment of the home owning population...not just the rich and famous. No, I would NEVER complain about DWELL. If, in any past blogs, I have mentioned the barefooted, serene and uncluttered inhabitants of those pages, believe me, it is with love and admiration in my heart. How's that for overzealous, eh? ".....with love and admiration in my heart." A magazine? Yes.

Renaissanceronin had a lot of good stuff to say. And good for him for saying it. It certainly separates him from a huge segment of the more silent population. As for my part, I plan to continue in my overcompensating, attention whoring ways and will love every single minute of this whole house building operation. "Well, that's what I get."